osm-5p- driven fluorophores are differentially expressed in ccpp-1Δ and nekl-4Δ mutant ciliated neurons.

Abstract

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) involves the coordinated transport of molecular motors and other proteins and is required for ciliogenesis and ciliary maintenance. The C. elegans IFT protein OSM-5 /IFT88 is expressed in a majority of the ciliated neurons in the animal, and osm-5 mutants exhibit structurally defective cilia. The osm-5 promoter is commonly used to express genetic constructs in the ciliated neurons. In this study, we show that brightness of osm-5p- driven constructs is altered in mutants of the tubulin deglutamylase ccpp-1 and the NIMA-related kinase nekl-4 . This raises the possibility that osm-5 expression levels may be regulated by ccpp-1 and nekl-4 .